The healing of an abdominal injury or surgical operation can be properly supervised only if frequent inspections of the wound or sutures can be made. The torso of a person, and particularly the abdominal area, must be constrained by a body wrap, or the like, to prevent reopening of the wound or incision. Unless proper support of the wound or incision is provided, the sutured tissue may be pulled or ripped, thus resulting in a reopened wound and possible infection.
Various wraps and abdominal bandages are available for wrapping about a patient and restricting the expansion of the torso so that the wound or incision is constrained. In body wraps with elastic sections, sufficient expansion is provided for allowing the patient to breathe. However, the vertical and lateral stretchable nature of the panel also allows the wound to expand outwardly, thereby placing undue stress on the sutured tissue. A common approach to resolve this problem is the use of surgical tape placed around the wound or incision to prevent tissue stretching in areas localized around the wound. The obvious problem here is that the removal of the tape itself can reinjure the wound. To circumvent this problem, an absorbent gauze or cotton-type material is often taped over the wound. Again, this approach makes frequent inspection of the wound difficult, and moreover, a reinjured or bleeding wound cannot be easily discovered until the absorbent gauze or cotton material has been saturated with body fluids.
It may be seen that a need has arisen for an abdominal wrap or binder which is universally adjustable so as to accommodate a large variety of torso sizes and which is stretchable in the lateral direction only so as to provide improved support. There is a concomitant need for a body wrap with areas through which the wound or surgical incision can be inspected, thereby eliminating the need to remove the wrap.